Folklorists in Penn State’s Past

The famed scholar of proverbs and riddles taught at Pennsylvania State College from 1910-1912, later teaching at Washington University, the University of Chicago, and the University of California, Berkeley. Archer Taylor’s significant contributions to the study of folklore continue to be remembered in the Archer Taylor Memorial Lecture, given annually to the Western States Folklore Society.

Bayard, a folk music scholar, received his BA from Pennsylvania State College in 1934. After graduate study at Harvard, Bayard returned to Penn State, where he taught English and comparative literature at the University Park campus from 1945-1973. He also established the university’s program in folklore. Penn State holds a significant collection of Bayard’s papers and has digitized his folklore recordings.

Glassie, who is emeritus College Professor of Folklore at Indiana University, served as the State Folklorist of Pennsylvania from 1967-1969 and was an assistant professor in the American Studies Program at Penn State Harrisburg in 1969.

Samuelson, who held degrees in folklore from UCLA and the University of Pennsylvania, taught in the American Studies Program at Penn State Harrisburg, as well as at the University of California, Berkeley.